Bridging the city

The decennial growth rate of Delhi was registered at 1.98% in the census of 1911. A hundred years later the decennial growth is 20.96%. Though the growth has slowed down significantly from the peak of 53% in 1981, the population density of the city has almost trebled since then from 4,194/m² to 11,297 /m². Rapid growth over the past decades has put immense pressure on the resources of the city. Energy and water supplies are struggling to keep pace with the growing demand. The last decade of the twentieth century saw the opening up of the economy. Indian business flourished and foreign businesses invested heavily in the economy, which gave rise to the middle class. New money boosted consumption and created demand for personal vehicles among other things. The number of total vehicles registered in Delhi in 2011 stood at 7.43 million up from 521,457 in 1981. During the same period the number of private vehicle increased from 451,602 to 6.98 million.

Let there be space

Almost a quarter of the population of Delhi lives across the Yamuna (23.5%) in one of the densely populated parts of the city. The central business districts (CBD), which fall in central and south Delhi, force 707,503 (2012 estimates) vehicles to cross the eight bridges the city has, across the river Yamuna. The average time taken to cross these bridges is anywhere between 15 – 30 minutes. This not only leads to wastage of time but reduces productivity too. According to a 2009 study by Centre for Transforming India, an NGO, Delhi lost approximately INR 10 crore (USD 2 million, at INR 46 to a Dollar) every day in fuel wastage. On an average each vehicle lost 1.6 liters of fuel per day due to congestion and the exchequer lost INR 1.5 crore (USD 0.3 million) in fuel subsidies. Though there was no mention of the environmental impact of the wastage, it is safe to assume that carbon emissions increased significantly. Environmental pollution sparks other health related issues, especially among the young and old, shooting up health care costs and reducing overall productivity.

For a city of the size of Delhi, eight bridges is a joke. Similar cities around the world have anywhere between 12 – 30 bridges across their rivers. The Thames for example has 34 bridges in the Greater London area (including pedestrian bridges) while Chao Phraya in Bangkok has 14 (including two under construction) bridges. Delhi is in desperate need for new bridges to connect its densely populated east to the CDBs of South and centre. The pressure on bridges is not just from the city of Delhi but also from the satellite cities of Noida, Greater Noida, Gazhiabad and Faridabad. The pace of construction has been slow and the city got only one new bridge in the last ten years. The much publicized signature bridge is still under construction and reeling under multiple delays. The plans to construct a new train bridge replacing the 19^th century, “old Yamuna Bridge” are gathering dust for more than a decade now.

The Delhi Metro has made significant contribution in reducing vehicular traffic on Delhi roads and will ease the traffic more once the third phase is completed later this year. However the ever increasing population of the city will always keep its road infrastructure under pressure. The urban planners should wake up to the catastrophe looming on Delhi. More bridges will mean even distribution of traffic and hence removal of the artificial bottle necks.

Better connectivity across Yamuna will also create new CBDs. Access is one of the major parameters which attracts business. More connectivity across Yamuna will mean new opportunities for urban planners to plan and construct modern business centres for the city. This in turn will have an impact on the existing CBDs, in terms of possibly lower real estate prices and easing of congestion. The new business centres will not only attract corporate business but also generate local employment through associated services like restaurants, travel agencies, print shops, etc. The bridges not only have the potential to ease traffic congestion for commuters but can also prove to be a source of economic boom.